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Sen. Grassley releases full FBI memo about Hunter Biden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

By Lisa Mascaro | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley released an unclassified document Thursday that Republicans claim is significant in their investigation of Hunter Biden as they delve into the financial affairs of the president and his son, and revive previously debunked claims of wrongdoing.Grassley of Iowa has been working alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., as Republicans deepen their probe of President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, ahead of the 2024 election. Comer had issued a subpoena for the document from the FBI.While lawmakers on the Oversight Committee have already been able to partly review the information, this is the first time the full document — which contains raw, unverified information — is being made public. Called an FD-1023 form, it involves claims a confidential informant made in 2020 about Hunter Biden’s alleged business dealings when he served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Top ...

Alameda County D.A. Price defends record amid recall attempt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – When elected to be the District Attorney of Alameda County, Pamela Price committed to taking aggressive steps to restore public trust within Alameda County’s criminal justice system. That includes pursuing comprehensive alternatives to incarceration and establishing programs to address criminal violations committed by youth between the ages of 18 and 25."Every community has the experience of people making mistakes,” she said. “If it's your child, do you want me to throw your child away because your child made a mistake... Forever?"KRON4 told Price that comments such as the one above cause some people to think she is more compassionate to criminals than their victims. Price responded.  Suspect exits car on freeway, hit by vehicle on I-80 near Berkeley: sheriff "I am very concerned about particular harms that people suffer,” she said. “We're not here to say anybody can do anything to anybody. Trust me. We are prosecuting people across this county every ...

Missing Santa Rosa man found

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

UPDATE: Tewelde has been found, according to police. (KRON) -- The Santa Rosa Police Department is searching for a missing man.Yohan Tewelde, 30, of Santa Rosa, has not been seen since he walked away from his home on Fairfax Place. He has autism, but he is verbal and will respond to his name, police said.Police described him as a Black man who stands 6 feet tall with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt and white shorts. Tewelde is known to spend time around the Target located at 1980 Santa Rosa Ave. Anyone who sees him is asked to call (707) 528-5222.

How a three-digit phone number has changed mental health and crisis services in Maryland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

In this Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, photo, a man uses a cell phone in New Orleans. Quick help for suicidal thoughts and other mental health emergencies may soon be as easy as 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline goes live on Saturday, July 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)(AP/Jenny Kane) In this Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, photo, a man uses a cell phone in New Orleans. Quick help for suicidal thoughts and other mental health emergencies may soon be as easy as 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline goes live on Saturday, July 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)(AP/Jenny Kane) This content was republished with permission from WTO...

A show of hands: Puppetry festival takes place at U.Md.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

It’s a festival that is all about the art of puppetry and it is taking place at the University of Maryland.Whether you are an advanced puppeteer or just a fan of puppets, there is something for everyone at the National Puppetry Festival, presented by Puppeteers of America.“That means hand puppets and marionettes and tabletop puppets and shadow puppets into a theater and every kind of puppetry you could possibly think of,” said Christine Dempsey, the festival’s marketing manager.Dempsey said performances, workshops, exhibits and special events allow attendees to explore the world of puppetry.“It is not exclusively for professionals,” Dempsey said.This year’s event is bringing in some big names in the puppet world, among them Las Vegas legend and America’s Got Talent winner Terry Fator, who will speak Friday. Also, some area talent will also be on display, including the Charm City Cabaret, which highlights Baltimore and D.C. puppeteers.The shows range from single pup...

Coroner: Altitude contributed to hiker's death in RMNP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A coroner's report for a Louisiana man who was found dead on a Rocky Mountain National Park hiking trail said his cause of death was heart-related.The Grand County Coroner said, "his death is consistent with an acute coronary event, as well as high altitude pulmonary edema."Robert Landry, 51, from Carencro, Louisiana was found unresponsive by other hikers a little over one mile from the Mount Ida Trailhead on Monday. Life-saving measures were performed but Landry was ultimately pronounced dead at the park, a release from RMNP said. The Mount Ida Trail where Landry was found is not an easy one. In fact, it's categorized as "hard" by AllTrails.com. It's a 9.4-mile in-and-out hike with an incline of 2,414 feet. Man dies on hiking trail in Rocky Mountain National Park The Louisiana city that Landry is from is less than 50 feet in elevation. The Mount Ida trailhead elevation is 10,759 feet and the summit of the trail is 12,889 feet.The definition of a high altitud...

Massive flagpoles are all the rage, and hugely divisive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.Congratulations to Bulgaria, which has won the prize every country was hoping to win … the EU’s highest flagpole! The 1,110 square meter flag — chosen to symbolize the size of Bulgaria’s territory, which is 111,000 square kilometers — was hoisted up a record-breaking 111-meter pole in the Rhodope mountains. Simeon Karakolev, the organizer of a historic annual folk festival in the village of Rozhen, helped raise $560,000 for the pole in a campaign championed by Bulgaria’s pro-Russia President Rumen Radev.Not everyone was keen on the big flag. “I felt unwell when I saw this rod sticking out of the ground in the middle of the meadows and the surrounding forests. This is human interference in nature,” business consultant Sofia Botusharova, from nearby Chepelare, told AFP.Bulgaria takes the title from Finland — which has a puny, pesky 100-meter flagpole. But it remains a long way off the international record. In Columbia Falls in Maine...

Spanish election: The forgotten regions could decide who wins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

TERUEL, Spain — Tomás Guitarte belongs to a land that Madrid purposely forgot.During most of the 62-year-old architect’s life, successive Spanish administrations ignored his home province of Teruel, a rugged chunk of the Aragón region located in the heart of northeastern Spain.The refusal by national authorities to invest in Teruel has starved the area, leading its population to shrink in the span of 100 years from 264,062 inhabitants in 1920 to just 134,505 today — a period in which Spain’s population more than doubled.“They just gave up on us,” Guitarte said. “Decided we weren’t worth the effort and hoped we would just disappear.”Today, Teruel is having its revenge.Since 2019, Teruel Existe (“Teruel Exists”), a hyper-local political party led by Guitarte, has become an unlikely power player in Spanish politics. Most notably, without its support, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wouldn’t have been able to form the country’s first coalition gove...

Why Belgium may be about to break up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

Sooner rather than later, Belgium may cease to exist. The small Western European state that hosts the headquarters of the EU and NATO has long had a dysfunctional national political life. It holds the world record for the longest time taken to form a government during coalition talks — over 500 days. Now the strains between Dutch-speaking Flanders, in the north, and French-speaking Wallonia in the south of the country threaten a far bigger crisis. Elections are due to be held in June 2024. According to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, the far-right Vlaams Belang party — which wants to turn Flanders into a fully independent, breakaway state — is now the biggest political force in the country. Tom Van Grieken, who became president of his party when he was only 28 and who has been key to its recent success, has been firm about his plans for independence if he wins. “We believe Belgium is a forced marriage,” Van Grieken told POLITICO in his office near Brussels’ E...

Happy holidays! Will Brexit spoil Brits’ vacations — and Rishi Sunak’s summer?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:51 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak is desperate to sell the benefits of Brexit. Unfortunately for him, the holiday season is here.Some Tory MPs fear post-Brexit “annoyances” for Brits this summer — from reintroduced mobile roaming charges to laborious passport checks — may counteract a determined effort by No. 10 Downing Street to convince Brits that the Brexit battles of the past few years have been worth the pain.“You can construct a long list of things that are annoying,” sighed one former Tory minister, a Remain supporter, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “Government should be much better at constructing a list of things that are better … but that is challenging, apparently.”“We have just signed the CPTPP [Pacific trade deal]. Am I richer? No. You have just spent £10 on roaming charges. Are you poorer? Yes.”Mobile roaming charges, which are banned within the European Union, have returned on three out of the four major U.K. networks post-Brexit. EE, Vodafone an...